"Disability access"

• There are insufficient blue badge bays. The recommended amount, which is pitched quite low, is 5% and St. Richard's doesn't even reach that amount. This is disappointing, considering the high ratio of elderly, served by this hospital. Also, same bays are blocked by staff, using blue badges. If members of staff are disabled, the Trust should allocate them staff disabled bays, so that they don't diminish the parking for disabled patients. • • There is poor access into the Women's and Children's unit. The entrance doors are okay but the double doors, to the reception desks, are heavy and have no automatic openers. They are virtually impossible to open independently, if you are in a wheelchair. • • The patients' toilets have larger cubicles, but the outer doors are too heavy, if you are disabled. There is no signage to indicate that larger cubicles are provided, presumably as they aren't really 'accessible'. Once in the larger cubicle, in gynaecology, the transfer space is blocked by a large waste bin and the toilet roll dispenser is too far away. These deficiencies need to be dealt with, as a matter of urgency, unless the Trust has no desire to meet their equality duty.

Responses

Thank you for taking the time to comment on our service and we are sorry to hear that you had difficulties with access into the Women and Children's unit. Following your comments we have undertaken a review of accessibility within the unit and made some immediate changes in the areas you have suggested, such as access through the main clinic doors and relocation of the waste bin and toilet roll dispenser within the toilet area. We will also be working on more long term solutions to improving accessibilty overall. The NHS choices website is anonymous and your details are not shared with us but if you would like to talk to us further we would encourage you to contact the Trust directly. You can do this by visiting our website www.westernsussexhospitals.nhs.uk/contact/pals/ or by calling our PALS department on 01243831822 or by emailing PALSChichester@wsht.nhs.uk.